Foundation garment



Feb. 23, 1960 M. ROGERS FOUNDATION GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April26, 1957 INVENTOR Margaref Rogers Feb. 23, 1960 M. ROGERS FOUNDATIONGARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 26. 1957 IN VENTOR Morgare/ RogersBY ra sl FOUNDATION GARMENT ,Margaret Rogers, Brooklyn, NY. ApplicationApril 26, 1957, Serial No. 655,292

6 Claims. (Cl. 128533) This invention relates to foundation garments. Inparticular, the invention pertains to foundation garments usingstiifening'material for support and improved appearance of the figure.

Objects of the invention include a garment providing su'flicient controlin desirably restraining the mid-section of the body without sacrificingcomfort. The garment must be so constructed that the top edge will notstretch and fall in'an unsightly roll. Stifiening means must be soarranged that it does not cut or dig into the wearer, causing itsultimate removal.

Further, is an object of the invention to provide a foundation garmentwhich can be readily adapted to meet specific requirements, flexibleenough to allow its wearer convenient freedom of activity, and yet beeconomically availableto the average purchaser.

It is well known in the. art that the mid-section of the body expandsseveral inches when seated. Foundation garments designed to give maximumsupport when standing often injuriously crowd the vital organs'upwardly, downwardly or inwardly when in sitting position. Aprimary'feature'of the invention, therefore, is a completely flexiblefoundation garment affording healthful expansion to a wearer when seatedand positive retraction to a wearer upon rising.

I have now produced an improved foundation garment or girdle embodyingthe above-stated objectswhich aflords vastly improved figure controlover existing girdles with maximum comfort and is economical tomanufacture.

The garment is made entirely of one-way stretch elastic fabric which maybe cut into separate panels conforming to the curves of the body andjoined together. The garment may be made in several styles and, althoughonly a girdle or corset is illustrated, the principle of my inventionmay also be applied to all types of foundations.

In my invention, figure control is obtained by a new use of one-waystretch Lastex with an original application of boning. My garment notonly combines the novel application of a fully boned, completely elasticoneway stretch girdle, but it also includes a new combination ofparallel spiral and straight bones.

The spiral bones are used in longer lengths and disposed adjacent thetop and bottom of the girdle where flexibility and comfort are ofprimary importance. By using strips of double-bone casing, it ispossible to position a companion shorter length of the more rigidstraight bones in the central area of the garment where the most controlis needed.

The girdle fully meets the requirements of modern living conditions inbeing supple and at the same time restraining. It allows freedom ofactivity in walking, getting on and off high-stepped buses and trains,and in and out of low slung cars and modern furniture. My new girdlewith its firm, form fitting construction and full boning also serves acorrective purpose in replacing conventional surgical belts.

Further features and objects of the invention will be United StatesPatent 2,925,317 Patented Feb. 23, 1960 more fully understood from thefollowing detail description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a one-way stretch girdle fullyboned according to my invention;

.Fig. 2 is an outside view of the rear of illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an inside view of the front and one side of the girdle; and

Fig. 4 is an inside view of the rear of the girdle.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a girdle made entirely ofone-way stretch elastic fabric. The elastic material is cut into severalsections or panels according to the size and special requirements of theuser. The embodiment shown in the drawings has six panels, a front panel5, two side panels 6, 6a adjoining the front panel, a rear panel 8 andtwo rear side panels 7, 7a adjoining the rear panel, all joined by flat,smooth seams.

As seen in-Fig. 3, front panel 5 is shown with three vertically stitchedstrips of double-bone casing 9, 10

the girdle and 11 extending the full length of the girdle; one strip'disposed centrally and one on either side of the middle casing inmutually spaced relation. As a further support for the abdominal region,boning is disposed within the front upper portion of the ;girdle in suchmanner as to prevent the upper edge of the garment from rolling. Toachieve these ends and yet afford the greatest comfort to the wearer,spiral bones 23 are alternated withstraight bones 24.

The drawings show a preferable, example of this 'feature by the use oflonger lengths of spiral bones than of straight with the flexible spiralboning extending above and below the firm straight boning. In this waythe supple spiral bones are encased in a longer casing pocket, which maybe varied in length to fit individual needs. In front panel 5, thepocket extends from about midway to the top of the garment. The shorter,more rigid straight bones 24 are disposed intermediate the length of andparallel to the spiral bones so as to combine sufficient'support withmaximum comfort. The bones in casings 9 and 11 over theleg portions areshorter 'in length thanthose in center casing 10 to allow greaterfreedom of movement of the wearer.

A side panel 6 is joined to center panel '5 and reinforced as by tworods of bias tape 12 over the seam. The other edge of panel 6 is joinedto a rear side panel 7. This joining seam is shown reinforced bydouble-bone casing 13 enclosing two spiral bones 23 over substantiallythe upper half of the hip portion.

Rear panel 8 is joined to panels 7, 7a on either side thereof andreinforced by double-bone casings 14 and 16 over the joining seams.Another strip of double bone casing 15 is stitched down the center ofrear panel 8. As shown in Fig. 4, longer lengths of spiral and straightboning are inserted in rear casings 14, 15 and 16 and extend lower inthe girdle to effect greater restraining control over this portion ofthe body.

As in front panel 5 the spiral and straight bones are oppositelydisposed in the outer casings 14 and '15; the more flexible spiral bonesare usually placed in the outermost casings. Here too the spiral bonesare brought to the top of the garment in order to prevent rolling of theupper edge and at the same time maintain comfort of the wearer in thissensitive area.

The outer edge of the second rear side panel 7a is joined to a secondfront side panel 6a and reinforced by a second double-bone casing 13a.Double spiral bones of a shorter length than that used in the frontpanel are also inserted in the upper portions of casings 13a to give afirm but flexible support over this hip section of the girdle, as incasings 13.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a side opening 19 andclosure means such as zipper, hook andeye, or other fastening devices 17to join the. outer edge of second front side panel 6a to the free edgeof front panel 5. The girdle may also be made in a step-in style wherethe fastening devices extend only part way down from the upper edge ofthe garment.

In order to meet individual requirements, the same lengths of straightbones may be used as spiral bones for greater control. Also, the numberand shape of panels, the number and length of bones and the weight ofthe one-way stretch elastic fabric may be varied according to figure,size and degree of control required to accommodate the wearer in themost comforable and effective manner.

Hose supporters 21, 21 are attached to the lower edge of the front panel'5. Other supporters 22, 22 may be stitched to lower edges of panels 7,7a.

The inside lower edge of the garment may be finished with elastic edging20 preferably applied with zig-zag stitching. For added attractivenessfluted elastic edging may be used in matching or contrasting colors.

The upper edge of the girdle may be finished on the inside with a widerelastic edging 18 also Zig-zag stitched and reinforced over casings toprevent the elastic from rolling.

The forms of the invention herein described and illustrated arepresented merely as examples of how the invention may be embodied andapplied. Other forms, embodiments and applications of the invention,coming within the proper scope of the appended claims, will, of course,suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A fully boned girdle comprising a front panel, a rear panel, sidepanels joining said front and said rear panels, double-bone casingdisposed over seams joining said side panels having spiral boningencased therein, doublebone casing disposed over seam-s joining saidfront panel and said rear panel to said side panels, said front panelhaving at least three vertical strips of double-bone casing affixedthereto, each of said strips provided with alternate spiral and straightboning encased therein, said panels being stretchable in one directiononly and said spiral boning extending above and below said straightboning in said strips. 7

2. A foundation garment comprising panels of oneway stretch material,fiat seams joining ,said. panels, double-bone casing disposed over saidseams serving as reinforcements thereof, strips of double bone casingdisposed intermediate said seams on the front and rear panels of saidgarment, each of said strips provided with a flexible and a firm bone inpockets formed by said casing, said firm bones serving to support andcontrol the 'lower torso of a wearer in standing position and saidflexible bones extending above and below said firm bones in said stripsserving to model said garment and afford comfort to such wearer duringsitting and bending positions.

3. A garment according to claim 2 wherein said boning on said front andrear panels extends below double flexible boning disposed from the topof the side panels of said garment.

4. A garment according to claim 3 wherein a free edge is provided onsaid front paneling, means disposed along said free edge adapted tocooperate with means disposed along a free edge of a contiguous sidepanel, said means serving to releasably fasten said garment into and outof bulge control positions.

5. A girdle according to claim 1 wherein said rear panel is providedwith a strip of double bone casing centrally thereof, double bone casingis affixed over the joining seams of said rear panel and said rear sidepanels, having alternate spiral and straight bones encased therein.

6. A girdle according to claim 5, wherein said spiral and straightboning is encased in reverse order in said outside front and rearcasings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,292,491 Lernowitz Ian. 28, 1919 2,062,131 Hirsch Nov. 24, 19362,124,112 Kapinas July 19, 1938 2,457,989 Ettleson Jan. 4, 19492,666,202 Ong-ley Jan. 19, 1954 2,774,073 Herbener Dec. 18, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 461,021 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1937

